Heritage Auctions' FUN U.S. Coins Signature Auction Jan. 11-15 set many records, including a $3.6 million 1873-CC No Arrows Seated dime graded MS-65 that raised $51,857,970.
The events totaled $63,937,490, including Heritage's FUN Currency Signature Auction's $12,079,520. Heritage Auctions sold $88,260,231 in U.S. coins and banknotes in the first two weeks of 2023, including The Bass Collection, Part II U.S. Coins Signature Auction - Orlando FUN, which brought $24,322,741 Jan. 5.
A record 10 lots in all three events exceeded $1 million. The top lot, one of three unique coins offered in the auction, was one of six coins to reach $1 million in the FUN U.S. Coins event. Heritage had seven seven-figure coins in a FUN sale twice, in 2015 and 2022. The 1873-CC No Arrows Seated Dime made nearly twice as much as its predecessor, $1.84 million.
Heritage Auctions executive vice president Todd Imhof says, “Year after year, Heritage's FUN auctions reaffirms its status at the premier destination for elite collections and sets the tone for the next six months or so.” He is excited to announce that the numismatic market remains vibrant based on the results he delivered for his consignors.
One of Heritage's most notable coins is the 1873-CC No Arrows Seated dime from the Prestwick Collection, Part II. Carson City mintmarks exist on some of the most collectible U.S. coins. Mint Director Henry F. Rice submitted five of the 12,400 1873 No Arrows dimes, together with appropriate numbers of Seated half dollars and dollars, to the Philadelphia Mint for testing in accordance with the Assay Commission statute. After it, the Coinage Act of 1873 melted all “old style” No Arrows dimes. The Assay Commission coins' fate is unknown, but only one survives—the coin offered in this auction.
More than six offers were placed on an 1870-S Seated Liberty half dime graded MS-64, which sold for $3.12 million, breaking the 2005 record of $661,250. This coin from the Bender Family Collection was undiscovered for over a century. The finest known 1794 Flowing Hair half dollar, MS-64+, and a 1796 16 Stars half dollar, MS-66, sold for $1.8 million.
The 1794 Flowing Hair half dollar from the Jim O'Neal Collection of U.S. Half Dollar Types broke the 2017 record of $252,000. 1794 saw the first year of what was arguably the country's most important silver denomination, as well as the official inauguration of Robert Scot's two-year Flowing Hair type and the Mint's "coming out" for The Mint Act of 1792's required coinage.
The scarcer O-102 (T-2) 16 Stars half dollar from 1796, one of the best Draped Bust, Small Eagle halves, broke the $822,500 mark. Another unusual auction item was a 1907 Arabic Numerals double eagle, PR-68, which sold for $1.68 million, breaking the previous record of $920,000. This Important Selection from The Bob R. Simpson Collection, Part X was auctioned for the first time in 17 years. The Small Edge Lettering type is shown here.
A 1797 half dollar, O-101a, graded MS-65+, from the Jim O'Neal Collection of U.S. Half Dollar Types sold for $1.56 million, the sixth lot to reach seven figures. This coin, once part of the Norweb Collection, is the rarest two-year regular silver type (showing 1796 or 1797) with a mintage of 3,918 pieces. Type collectors and early half dollar specialists eagerly chase it.
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